Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Hepatitis is acute if it resolves within six months, and chronic if it lasts longer than six months. Acute hepatitis can resolve on its own, progress to chronic hepatitis, or (rarely) result in acute liver failure. Chronic hepatitis may progress to scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), liver failure, and liver cancer.
Autoimmune hepatitis, formerly known as lupoid hepatitis, plasma cell hepatitis, or autoimmune chronic active hepatitis, is a chronic, autoimmune disease of the liver that occurs when the body's immune system attacks liver cells, causing the liver to be inflamed. Common initial symptoms may include fatigue, nausea, muscle aches, or weight loss or signs of acute liver inflammation including fever, jaundice, and right upper quadrant abdominal pain. Individuals with autoimmune hepatitis often have no initial symptoms and the disease may be detected by abnormal liver function tests and increased protein levels during routine bloodwork or the observation of an abnormal-looking liver during abdominal surgery.
Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), previously known as primary biliary cirrhosis, is an autoimmune disease of the liver. It results from a slow, progressive destruction of the small bile ducts of the liver, causing bile and other toxins to build up in the liver, a condition called cholestasis. Further slow damage to the liver tissue can lead to scarring, fibrosis, and eventually cirrhosis.
Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a long-term progressive disease of the liver and gallbladder characterized by inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts, which normally allow bile to drain from the gallbladder. Affected individuals may have no symptoms or may experience signs and symptoms of liver disease, such as yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes, itching, and abdominal pain.
Cholestasis is a condition where bile cannot flow from the liver to the duodenum. The two basic distinctions are an obstructive type of cholestasis where there is a mechanical blockage in the duct system that can occur from a gallstone or malignancy, and metabolic types of cholestasis which are disturbances in bile formation that can occur because of genetic defects or acquired as a side effect of many medications. Classification is further divided into acute or chronic and extrahepatic or intrahepatic.
Translational medicine develops the clinical practice applications of the basic science aspects of the biomedical sciences; that is, it translates basic science to applied science in medical practice. It is defined by the European Society for Translational Medicine as "an interdisciplinary branch of the biomedical field supported by three main pillars: benchside, bedside, and community". The goal of translational medicine is to combine disciplines, resources, expertise, and techniques within these pillars to promote enhancements in prevention, diagnosis, and therapies. Accordingly, translational medicine is a highly interdisciplinary field, the primary goal of which is to coalesce assets of various natures within the individual pillars in order to improve the global healthcare system significantly.
Roger Stanley Williams CBE FRCS FRCP FRCPE FRACP FMedSci was a British professor of hepatology. He was Director of the Institute of Hepatology, London and Professor of Hepatology, King's College London. He was also Medical Director of the charity, the Foundation for Liver Research a UK registered charity and was the lead person of the Lancet Commission into Liver Disease in the UK.
Metabolic (dysfunction) associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) until renamed in 2023 by a global consensus panel composed mostly of hepatology researchers and clinicians. The term metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is also used. MAFLD is excessive fat build-up in the liver without another clear cause such as alcohol use. There are two types; non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis, with the latter also including liver inflammation. Non-alcoholic fatty liver is less dangerous than NASH and usually does not progress to NASH. When NAFL does progress to NASH, it may eventually lead to complications such as cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver failure, or cardiovascular disease.
Dame Sheila Patricia Violet Sherlock DBE, FRCP FRCPE FRS HFRSE FMGA FCRGA was a British physician and medical educator who is considered the major 20th-century contributor to the field of hepatology.
Liver cancer is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary or secondary. Liver metastasis is more common than that which starts in the liver. Liver cancer is increasing globally.
Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage to the liver leads to repair of liver tissue and subsequent formation of scar tissue. Over time, scar tissue can replace normal functioning tissue, leading to the impaired liver function of cirrhosis. The disease typically develops slowly over months or years. Early symptoms may include tiredness, weakness, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss, nausea and vomiting, and discomfort in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. As the disease worsens, symptoms may include itchiness, swelling in the lower legs, fluid build-up in the abdomen, jaundice, bruising easily, and the development of spider-like blood vessels in the skin. The fluid build-up in the abdomen develop spontaneous infections. More serious complications include hepatic encephalopathy, bleeding from dilated veins in the esophagus, stomach, or intestines, and liver cancer.
Elizabeth Jane "Jenny" Heathcote was a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and a gastroenterologist and scientist at University Health Network in Toronto specializing in liver disease. She retired in 2013.
Andrew K. Burroughs was a British physician, researcher and teacher. He is renowned for his wide contribution to the field of Hepatology; he has been termed one of the greatest hepatologists of our times and the true representative of Dame Sheila Sherlock's legacy.
Detlef Schuppan is a German biochemist and physician. He focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of coeliac disease and wheat sensitivity, fibrotic liver diseases and the immunology of chronic diseases and cancer. He is the director of the Institute of Translational Immunology and a professor of internal medicine, gastroenterology, and hepatology at the Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz in Germany. He directs the outpatient clinic for coeliac disease and small intestinal diseases. He is also a professor of medicine and a senior visiting scientist at Harvard Medical School.
Gamal Esmat is a professor at Endemic Medicine and Hepatogastroenterology Department, Cairo University. He was vice president of Cairo University for Graduate Studies and Research.
Anna Suk-Fong Lok is a gastroenterologist who studied in Hong Kong and moved to the United States in 1992. She is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and helped the World Health Organization (WHO) and American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) develop guidelines for medical professionals and recommendations for the general public on who should be treated and how treatments should be administered to persons with hepatitis B infections.
Shiv Kumar Sarin is an Indian gastroenterologist, hepatologist, translational scientist, researcher and teacher. He set up the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences. He is a recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize and the Padma Bhushan. He served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of Medical Council of India. He was the president of the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver and founder of Asian Pacific School of Hepatology.
Mamun Al Mahtab is a Bangladeshi hepatologist, medical scientist, author, and columnist. With 290 publications in national and international peer-reviewed journals to his credit, Mahtab is currently working as the Head, Division of Interventional Hepatology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU). In 1998, he graduated from the University of London with an MSc in gastroenterology, and then in 2006, he obtained an MD in hepatology at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University(BSMMU).
Jesus M. Prieto is a Spanish medical doctor and scientist who is at present Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the University of Navarra.
The European Liver Patients' Association (ELPA) is an international non-governmental organisation best known for its role in patient advocacy concerning liver diseases. ELPA is an umbrella organisation representing more than 30 members stemming from 25 European and non-European countries.
